Growth in asset finance and re-finance
According to a survey by Allica Bank, there has been an increasing number of businesses are seeking asset finance to drive business growth, an encouraging trend! Nearly 50% of asset finance brokers reported an increase in demand, with a third seeing at least a 10% rise in applications. The demand is coming mainly from businesses…
SME lending falls by 20% in Q3
There has been a 20% drop in lending to SMEs over the last year. This is according to a review by UK Finance. Gross lending to SMEs was £3.5bn in the third quarter of 2023. This compares with £4.4bn in the same period last year. The report attributes the decline to “demand uncertainty, higher interest…
Advice on Cyber Security
As we are all aware, cyber security protection for our IT systems is increasingly important. This is true for all businesses and individuals. We all know of stories of people being tricked into having their accounts hacked. Holding businesses, many large corporations, to ransom is also becoming increasingly common. Avoiding the danger Our advice to…
Excessively ‘Bashing’ the UK high earners could backfire on the economy.
The UK’s top 100,000 taxpayers paid some 24% of all income and capital gains tax in 2021/22. This is according to The Wealth Club (a retail investment firm). The average bill was in the region of £559,000. This was up 18% compared with the previous year. The top 100 earners paid an average £46m each.…
Labour vows to boost small firms – but can they?
Labour claim they will introduce legislation, if elected, to ensure invoices are paid on time. The party’s plan also includes measures to protect small businesses by scrapping business rates. They will boost exports, and provide capital assistance for technology-intensive businesses. Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said that small businesses are the beating heart of the…
Businesses welcome full-expensing tax relief being permanently extended.
The Chancellor’s Autumn statement confirming that he is making the ‘full expensing’ tax break permanent has come as a welcome move to most businesses considering future capital investment. This goes some way to counteracting the increase in corporation tax and the end of the super-deduction relief that came into effect in March ’23. BFS Comment:…
Plans to crackdown on companies with poor customer service.
Companies with a poor customer service record will face fines under plans being considered by the Government. The proposals, developed by Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt, will give regulators more power to address bad customer service. They include measures to tackle “drip pricing” and will make it easier for consumers to change and cancel contracts. MP…
City regulator to warn banks about exploiting small businesses
The Times reports that ithe Financial Conduct Authority will be warning banks about exploiting small businesses. This relates specifically to providing low savings rates. A recent study says that small businesses are losing out on over £7.5bn each year. This is due to deposits sitting in accounts with no interest and receiving worse rates than…
10% of SMEs are failing through lack of access to finance
According to a recent survey by Shawbrook Bank, one in 10 SMEs have struggled to access funding and, eventually, folded. The survey found that 72% of SMEs had difficulty accessing financing, with 29% delaying major investments due to insufficient funding. The report also highlighted that 17% of businesses were deemed too risky for funding. A…
Logistics companies showing increased lack of confidence in the future
A new study from Barclays and BDO has found that confidence in the logistics sector has fallen to the second lowest level on record. That is just above COVID-19 levels. It reports that three-quarters of operators feel business conditions are more difficult now than a year ago. This is partly due to fuel and energy…
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